Invitation Consultants Blog - Wedding and Party Inspiration

BRILLIANT CUSTOMER IDEA: HOST A FISH FRY BABY SHOWER!

Looking for a unique Baby Shower idea? We love this creative customer idea to host a Fish Fry Baby Shower! Now that summer is upon us, it’s the perfect time to spend more time outdoors enjoying the weather so having a fish fry themed baby shower has guests enjoying the best of both worlds.

For this baby shower, have fun with the creative theme - use under the sea or nautical décor, splashes of blues and greens for the color scheme, and festive favors (yummy bags of sweedish fish would be perfect). The best part is this theme works for both girls and boys!

How would you make this party come to life?

Behind the Scenes: How our Bloggers' Husbands Popped The Question!

Spring time is wedding time, and we were nostaglic about our own proposal stories, wedding events, and our sweet hubby's. This lead to a fun little interview with some of our bloggers' dear husbands. Their proposals are so sweet from their perspective! First let's hear from Vince::

Date, time, locale of proposal?
Our proposal happened on June 24th, 2011 at the Violet Hour in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood around 7:30PM. I had called in advance to let them know what was going to happen, and the staff was so accommodating. Found out that we were the first engagement at Violet Hour, which is hard to believe with how beautiful and romantic the setting it is inside.

How long did you have the ring before you popped the question?
Well this is where the story gets interesting. I had a ring for quite some time, but it didn't end up being the actual ring. I wanted it to be perfect, and so after thinking this was it - I still wasn't sure it was the right one. After much internal debate, I took my mom back out with me a final time. She helped me feel a lot better about my purchase. (funny side note: Amy and I changed the ring a 3rd time once back in Tampa)

Did you tell your friends or family beforehand?
We were in Chicago from Florida for a wedding that weekend. So when the Friday arrived, my family was already in the know. I arranged her sisters and best friend Jenna to meet us at Violet Hour shortly after the proposal, so they too had some advance warning. I was so worried it would leak out to Amy, that I didn't tell anyone until just hours before - that included her parents, which I would highly recommend getting them involved long in advance for the grooms-to-be. That was my only regret.

In no more than three words, describe your state of mind a few moments before you proposed:
Three words would be next to impossible and I will explain why. After going over in my head about a dozen times what I would say, I was finally ready for the proposal. The almost very instance I was about to drop to one knee, Amy says "I will be right back, have to use the bathroom". So I guess the first and last three words that popped into my mind were "oh wait, ok"

If proposing meant gifting your bride-to-be something other than a ring, what would you have chosen for her?
A few years ago, I started a photo box for Amy of all the memories we had up to that point. It may be cheesy or corny, but memories are all you have at the end of day. And my memories with Amy can be treasured for a lifetime and then some.

Jump to read Courtney & Gavin and Kaity & Bobby's stories!

Brilliant Customer Idea: Prom Do-Over!

Prom is one of the most memorable events during the high school years. This being said there can be a lot of pressure associated with it - for girls, it's picking out the prefect prom dress and for guys, it's coming up with a cute and clever way to ask their favorite girl do be their date for the evening.

With this one night having to be perfect/magical/fun/romantic/amazing/everything it's hyped up to be night, what if it's not? We love this brilliant customer idea to host an official prom do-over! What a great idea to gather friends and re-create this night.  Make it memorable by sending official prom invitations, having guests dress in their best prom attire, and mimic the music of your high school years. Sounds pretty perfect to me.

So, did you have the perfect prom or will you be hosting a do-over?

Behind the Scenes | IC Office Party!

Last week Invitation Consultants hosted an Open House to celebrate and show off our new office space to family and friends. It was a BLAST, and I have some pretty great pics to share....let's just say we're not a shy bunch over here! Check out the amazing VIP Pass and photobooth Reilly created especially for the event...first up, Allison + Olivier, our fab hosts of the evening:

We spent the evening relaxing and chatting, eating, and having a great time playing around in our custom photobooth. It was a fabulous time and we all got to meet some wonderful new people!


Make sure to check out all of the fun party picks! Have you been to any great parties lately?

Pet Day!

April 11th is National Pet Day and we here at IC love our furry friends! We hope you enjoy our pet pictures + stories.

Reilly's little dog is Schmoopy:

She’s sunshine on a cloudy day! But, you should know that she is a BOSSY PANTS. She is 9.5 lbs of fluff that is in charge of all the dogs on the block – including a 90 lb. Rhodesian Ridgeback. The dogs about town simultaneously fear and respect her. She’s a natural born leader & miniature alpha. Also, she barks when Elton John is on the radio and really enjoys bananas. 

Kyle has got two huskies:

They're pretty much glued to each other. Lucy is the 'huskier' of the two. They're not sisters. Lucy came from a breeder. We fell in love with Lucy and started fostering for the husky rescue of florida. Then we fell in love with one of the fosters and that's how we ended up with Aleu. Apparently this happens a lot. Aleu was named after the Aleutian islands in alaska. We didn't name her. Aleu is nicknamed a "pee'r" because she loves people so much that she can't handle the excitement of someone that just wants to pet her. Lucy is scared of strange men and will always let me know when its time eat.

Behind the Scenes | Happy Waffle Day!

If you didn't know, today is Waffle Day! And since we love to celebrate all things food, we spent the morning creating yummy + delightful creations at our very own waffle bar. The setup is a cinch - all you need is a waffle maker, some batter (we used the super easy just add water kind), and your preferred toppings. We made sure to include syrup, whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries.

Having never actually made waffles before myself, I recruited Lucy to help mix up the batter and get everything ready. As I mentioned, we used a super easy "just add water" waffle mix and now I can't wait to start making waffles more often!

Kristie and Kaity were the first to try our freshly made (and delicious) waffles. Here they are topping their breakfast!

Our waffles turned out fantastic! Celebrating Waffle Day was such a great start to the week and I can't wait to see what we'll be celebrating next.

Will you be making waffles to celebrate? What's your must-have waffle topping?

Behind the Scenes | A Sneak Peek at the IC Design Studio!

Ever since we moved, there's been so many new and exciting changes at Invitation Consultants! I'm super thrilled to give you a sneak peek at our newest endeavor, the IC Design Studio! The design studio is still in progress, with its grand opening date set for April 15th. The studio gives us a great opportunity to interact with more local customers by being more hands on.

A couple finished product boards are shown above; here's a behind the scenes look at how they came to be....

We used burlap to give our existing boards a makeover giving them a great textured look.

We can't wait to show you more and share how this little adventure grows. Also, as the retail coordinator, I can't wait to work one-on-one with our local customers to make their event the very best!

More to come...

Brilliant Customer Idea: Bring Your Own Cheese Party

Put a fun spin on the traditional Wine and Cheese Party with a Bring Your Own Cheese Party! Being a lover of all things cheese, this party sounds fantastic to me. Have each guest bring a block of their favorite cheese or their yummiest cheesy dish to share with the group. The host can supply a variety of wine and other drinks to accompany the food. Other food can be included too, but in my opinion, the more cheese, the better! To up the fun and and add a little friendly competition, have everyone take a vote at the end of the night on which cheese was their favorite. The winner would win a small prize and the opportunity to host next year's cheese adventure!

How would you make this creative party idea your own?

Behind the Scenes | We've Moved!

As some of you may know, Invitation Consultants has relocated! We took on the moving challenge last Friday and everyone here worked hard to pack up and generally help wherever needed to get the job done. It was a long day, but the new space is amazing and we are so excited for the new adventures that lay ahead!

The photos above are of the new Gamma space, aka our client relations team. Each team worked together to come up with a quote they felt best represented them. Gamma's quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt and reads "With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts". I think it's perfect! Also above is our sample wall and ink list; the samples got a new makeover and are all perfectly organized and easy to access. Finally, Zahara is getting situated and set up at her new desk area. She's ready to take on the day!

All in all, moving was a huge success and we are loving our new space! Have you taken on any big challenges lately?

Chatting with Kaity, Invitation Consultants' PR & Marketing Specialist

Kaity is Invitation Consultants' PR & Marketing Specialist. She does a fabulous job handling all of our PR, Marketing, and is a Social Media guru! Get to know Kaity a little better today as we chat with her...

Q: Where do you find inspiration?

Blogs, blogs and more blogs. I’m obsessed with my Google Reader and check it as often as possible. Plus I’d like to thank Pinterest for inspiring me to actually cook dinner on a somewhat regular basis!

 

Q: What is your favorite piece of clothing that you own? 

Anything orange and blue? Just kidding – since that is 75% of my wardrobe. Although my favorite new thing is an emerald green (hello – color of the year!) maxi dress.

 

Q: What colors are you crushing on right now?

Orange, blue, green and gold. Orange and blue are staples for me, but I’m finding myself drawn to green and gold a lot lately as well.

Q: How would you describe your style?

I think the fancy word for inconsistent is “eclectic”, right? Some days I’m in a khakis and cardigan mood, and sometimes I want to wear leggings with zippers up the side. My closet definitely has a range, but after getting over that high school mentality of “ways to dress”, I’m ok with the fact that MY style is my style, and doesn’t necessarily fit in a box.

 

Q: What is your favorite part of your day?

Dinner time – or lunch time. I love eating (and lately, cooking) so a good meal is always something I find myself looking forward to.  

 

Q: What are some of the songs in your “most played” list on your iPhone?

It’s quite a mix! Relient K, Drake, Taylor Swift, Childish Gambino, Adele and the cast of Glee are on heavy rotation. There are some good sing-a-long songs, that’s for sure.  

 

Q: What are your must-read blogs or sites?

 

I love J’s Everyday Fashion. About half of my Google Reader sites are style blogs, so I can’t list them all – but honorable mentions include: Sam Ipsa Loquitur and What the Frock. My favorites on Tumblr are Wit & Delight and Old Florida.

 



Q: Where would we find you on the weekend?

That depends on the season! In the fall, you’ll find me in Gainesville (or various other SEC towns around the country) cheering on my Florida Gators! The rest of the year, I’m either a homebody or out on the water, depending on if it’s raining or not. 

 

Thanks for sharing Kaity, I know you'll keep us in the loop on all Gator happenings!